Mark Twain Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (St. Louis District). Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
3.14 feet below full pool
−3.14 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 0.14 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 1.25 ft
- Last updated
- Sep 21 • 10:00 PM
Mark Twain Lake is currently 3.14 feet below full pool and has risen slightly over the past week. Recent conditions indicate improving reservoir levels, although the lake remains below its normal operating elevation.
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Flood stage
Datum
Current-level source
Project / NID identifier
Dam / watershed (NID design values)
Static design values from a confidently matched National Inventory of Dams record — not live gage readings.
- Normal storage
- 30 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 79 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 7 acres
- Drainage area
- 140 sq mi
- Dam structure
- Earth · 21 ft high · completed 1968
- Hazard classification
- Low
- Safety & inspection
- Not Rated
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Marks Lake Dam (MO11147)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Debris Control, Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond, Recreation, Water Supply.
Why the level can change
General factors for reservoirs like this
These are common influences for this type of lake. They do not identify the cause of a specific current change unless an operator update confirms it.
Rainfall & inflows
Rain and upstream river inflows can raise reservoir levels, especially after storms.
Downstream releases
When an operator releases water through a dam, reservoir storage can fall and downstream flows can rise.
Flood-risk operations
Some projects store or release water under flood-risk rules when conditions require it.
Water supply
Some reservoirs support municipal, industrial, irrigation, or regional water-supply needs.
Hydropower
Hydropower projects may pass water through turbines when generating electricity.
Seasonal weather
Dry periods, heat, evaporation, and seasonal rainfall patterns can affect storage over weeks and months.
Published reference elevations
- Full pool
- 606.00 ft
- Flood stage
- 638.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Flood stage is not interchangeable with flood pool.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (St. Louis District)
Observation source used by Lake Insights: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Who manages the lake and who publishes the reading Lake Insights displays can differ. Lake Insights does not invent a source label from the managing authority alone.
General education
Shared background — not lake-specific facts
Lake Insights aggregates water level information from authoritative public sources such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, TVA, Bureau of Reclamation, power utilities, and other official lake operators. We preserve historical observations, calculate trends, and present lake conditions in a consistent format. For U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we link to the official source whenever it is available. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Common questions about Mark Twain Lake
- Who manages Mark Twain Lake?
- Mark Twain Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (St. Louis District). Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Mark Twain Lake?
- The published full-pool elevation for Mark Twain Lake is 606.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Mark Twain Lake?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Mark Twain Lake from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (St. Louis District)) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for Mark Twain Lake?
- Elevations for Mark Twain Lake are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Mark Twain Lake?
- Documented purposes for Mark Twain Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Debris Control, Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond, Recreation, Water Supply.